Milani Powder Blush - Luminous & Temptation

I never heard about this brand until I read somewhere that one of their blusher is a great dupe for NARS Orgasm. Not that I'm planning to get that. I could never justified myself to spend $30 for a single blush, I'm not one of those blush addicts (yet, LOL).

It turns out that there are so many great review about Milani, including their blushes, eyeshadows, and eyeliners. So I decided to try the famous Luminous blush, which is the NARS Orgasm dupe; and Temptation blush, a dupe for NARS Sin.

Temptation (left) and Luminous (right)

Temptation is a beautiful true plum color, and it's my favourite blush so far. It matches my medium skin tone perfectly, and give me an elegant mature look. It look matte but actually has subtle gold shimmer.Yes, it looks ugly on the pan but turns gorgeus on my cheeks. I think it's perfect for a formal occasion or a night-out. I could wear it everyday though but with a neutral eye and lip color, or it would be too much. I don't know how it would look on people with fairer skin than me, but for a medium to dark skin, this is a perfect must have color.

Luminous is a beautiful peach color with gold shimmer that looks amazing, both on the pan and cheeks. I think it will suit most skintones, but I'm not sure if this would show up on people with dark skin. It gives me a nice healthy glow, and it helps brighten up my face. The shimmer is very visible and produce a duochrome color.

Both of the blushes were nicely pigmented, and not powdery at all. But sadly these blushes don't last pretty long on my cheeks, 3 hours tops even with a face primer. But it will last longer if you use cream blush as a base. The price tag is only $3.99 each at beautyjoint. It think this line has been discontinued and replaced with the mineral line, which is more expensive. So, better grab these while they last.

Swatch: Temptation, heavy (left) - blended (right)

Swatch: Luminous, heavy (left) - blended (right)

Ingredients:
• Luminous:
Talc, Phenyl Trimethicone, Polymethylmethacrylate, Zinc Stearate, Methylparaben, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Glycine Soja Oil (Soybean), Diethyl Phthalate, Red 7 Lake, May Contain (+/-): Mica, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Manganese Violet, Red 30 Lake, Red 6, Ultramarines, Bismuth Oxychloride, Red 21 Lake, Carmine

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter - Lollipop

Perhaps Revlon is the most famous drugstore makeup brand in the world. Even when I had no idea what makeup is, except for lipstick, I've heard about Revlon. But unfortunately, this brand rarely catch my attention with their products. I know there are some rave products from them like the Colorstay liquid eyeliner, or the liquid foundation, but I was always hesitate to try them. I had a bad experience with their blush and eyeshadow once, the pigmentation was terrible and won't show up on my skin at all.

Well enough rambling. When all the hype about their latest product, Colorburst Lip Butter, was all over the web, I couldn't help myself to join in. I'm allergic to most lip color product but since it's a lip butter, not a lipstick, I think my lips should be okay.

Fortunately my feelings was right. This product is very much like a lipstick, but very moisturizing. But in the other hand, the color is a little sheer, not as bold as the Colorburst lipstick. Some color won't even show up in my pigmented lips at all. That's why I decided to get the Lollipop shade, an opaque bright fuschia pink with silver glitters (don't worry, the glitters won't show up on your lips). It is very pretty but can easily get over the top in my medium skin tone. I usually dab it carefully on my lips instead of rubbing it to avoid looking like a 3 years old playing with her mom's lipstick. I think it would look very hip on people with fair skin.

Swatch:

I purchased this for 75.000 idr (US$8) on my local Revlon counter. Although the price is affordable but you only get a small amount of product. See the picture below? The lip butter is only 1.5cm long (2.55g). So this one won't last you very long. It would be a great addition to your lip color stash though, they have 20 different shades (!).

Ingredients:
Polybutene, Bis Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate 2, Tridecyl Trimelitate, Octyldodecanol, Petrolatum, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Neopentyl Glycol Dithylhexanoate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Polyethylene, Ozokerite, Cetyl PEG/PPG 10/1 Dimethicone, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Hexyl Laurate, Polyglyceryl 4 Isostearate, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Zinc Ricinoleate, Squalane, Silica, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Tocopheryl Acetate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Synthetic Wax, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Dimethicone/Bis Isobutyl PPG 20 Crosspolymer, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Tribehenin, Sorbitan Isostearate, Fragrance, BHT, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2 Hexanediol, May Contain (+/-):, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Red 33 Lake (CI 17200), Carmine (CI 75470), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850)

NYX Stick Blush - Tulip

I'm not really into blush, I'm more of an eyeshadow person type. So a couple days ago I just realised that I don't have a pink blush! My favourite drugstore makeup brand -NYX- has recently launched a new line of blush, the Stick Blush. So I figured, eh why not.

The price itself is a bargain, as usual. I got this for 70.000 idr (around $8) from a local online seller. They have 8 selection of colors, mostly pink-toned, so it was a tough call. I finally landed my choice on Tulip, which turns out to be a cool bright pink color (I was hoping for a warmer color actually, maybe I should've chosen Pink Poppy)

The packaging looks like a fat chapstick. It's small and only contain 6.2 g of product. It's ok because creamy product usually have shorter shelf life (this one says 12M on the packaging though). The texture is very creamy and glide on easily. It's very easy to blend too, so you'll get a natural flush color on your cheeks. I use my fingers at first, but I guess it will be more hygienic to use a brush instead. It's super pigmented, and last quite long, at least for 5 hours on me ( I have a dry combination skin). Unlike the NYX powder blush which immediately dissapear after I left the house.


Heavy swatch:

Blended Swatch:

INGREDIENTS: 
White Mineral Oil, 2-Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Polybutene, Squalane, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Vitamin E, Beeswax, Ozokerite, Candelilla Wax, Carnauba Wax, Paraffin Wax/ Microcrystalline Wax, Phenoxyethanol/ Methylparaben/ N-Butylparaben/ Ethylparaben/ Propylparaben/ Isobutylparaben, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate. MAY CONTAIN: D&C Red No.6 Sodium Salt (CI 15850), D&C Red No.28 Al. Lake (CI 45410), FD&C Yellow No.5 Aluminum Lake (CI 19140:1), D&C Red No.7 Calcium Lake (CI 15850:1), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Black Iron Oxide (CI 77499), Red Iron Oxide (CI 77491), Yellow Iron Oxide (CI 77492), Mica (CI 77019)

Makeup Artist's Choice - Vit. K Eye Cream

Ok, I dedicated this post for all the mommies out there who craved for some good night sleep. Not that I can give you what you wanted you must ask that to your adorable little creatures that keeps you awake at night (or her father). I could suggest you an answer to the dark shadows that hanging around your eyes.

I've been searching for an effective dark circle eraser eye cream for ages, and have found none. Thankfully that's a thing called concealer, but there's days that I wish I could go to the mall with my bare skin and still look fabulous.. Anyway, I was googling some article for dark circle treatment and found that Vit. K can help to correct the skin discoloration (beside lacking of sleep and anemia). There's some eye creams on the market containing Vit. K, but I found out that Makeup Artist's Choice - famous for their home peeling - sell sample sizes of their eye cream. I'm quite skeptical on this one, so I don't want to order the full size jar yet.

I bought this for 55.000 idr (US$6) for 3 gr of sample cream. The full size one is around 260.000 idr (US$29) for 1.5oz of product.

Well, since I didn't expect much, I'm quite surprise at the result. After 2 weeks using this, day and nightime, I noticed a slight reduction on my dark circle. It was a good thing right? I've read that you can't rid of dark circle unless with heavy medical kind of treatment, such as surgery. But this eye cream can definitely help you to reduce it, and make you one step less from being a panda-mom (I'm talking bout the black eye circle of course, not the fat).

Wonder how it works? Here's a brief explanation from their website:

Dark undereye circles are caused by weakened and/or swollen vessels and capillaries which accumulates, causing the dark areas.
Vitamin K will help the body to reabsorb the blood into the skin and reduce those dark, difficult-to-resolove areas.

Ingredients:
Purified water, glyceral stearate, vegetable oil, vitamin k, stearyl stearate, lactic acid, cetyl alcohol, lime flower extract, allantoin, cetearyl alcohol, microcrystaline cellulose, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, citric acid.

Yes To Carrots Lip Butter - Melon

As you may already know, I'm an organic lip balm maniac. Just keeping myself logical, lip balm is a stuff you put in your lips (and quickly transferred to your mouth, stomach, blood circulation, etc) a zillion time a day. I found myself reapplying my lip balm every 15 minutes, how much toxic will I gain if I use a chemical lip balm (you do the math!)

Anyway, I usually use the famous Burt's Bee lip balm in Acai Berry (hate the original beeswax), but recently read somewhere that Yes to Carrot is more moisturizing. Bought it for £3 at ASOS. They have differents flavour such as carrot, mint, citrus, berry, and melon. I was hesitant between the berry and melon ones, and decided to try melon first (who want a carrot flavor for their lipbalm? Yuck)

It turns one that I like Burts Bee Acai Berry more than this one. This one is more moisturizing but didn't last very long, and won't give me a healthy lips look like the acai berry. It has a softer texture though, and a nice smell. So if you have a very dry dehydrated lips like me, I think Burt's Bee gives you better result (just stay away from the Beeswax one).

Ingredients: 
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Beeswax, Flavor, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Extract*, Cucumis Melo Cantalupensis (Melon) Seed Extract*, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Extract*, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract*, Limonene, Linalool, Citral.

Koji Eyelash Curler no 73

I was tired of cheap eyelash curler that constantly hurt my eyes, and finally decided to buy the famous Shu Uemura curler. But, I was so glad when I found a review about this Koji Eyelash Curler instead.

It's a brand from Japan, and I read that this was made for asian eyes, while most of the eyelash curler out there were made for caucasians eyes. They are available in many sizes, no 71, 72, 73, etc. I decided to purchase number 73, because it's the wide one. I have big prominent eyes, so most curler pinch my eyes (ouch!)

Bought this for 80.000 idr (US$9) from a local online seller, almost 1/3 price of the Shu Uemura, ha! It has one rubber replacement, and a wide opening. It feels sturdy and looks elegant.

The result was UNBELIEVABLE. I tried this eyelash curler at home at 6pm (for no reason, just looking for something to do before sleep in a bored afternoon). My eyelash were beautifully curved, without any weird edges on them like when I wore my cheap curler. And when I woke up the next morning, my eyelash still lookes the same! Yes the same beautifully curved as the last evening (note: I awake at least 7am every mornings, like all mothers do). Talking about beauty sleep eh.

The size is perfect for my eyes, didn't pinch my eyelid, and long enough to curved all my eyelashes. If you have small/hooded eyes you might want to try the number 71/72, as this one would be too big for you.